British prisons ‘awash’ with drugs, weapons, cash & smartphones

A glaring lack of security at UK prisons has been exposed, as inmates post pictures of illegal drugs, cash and weapons online. The Prison Officers Association (POA) said poor security oversight was a result of funding cuts.

The images, attained by Channel 4 News, indicate prisoners have
access to contraband, money, and drugs despite the fact they are
incarcerated in supposedly secure jails.

Evidence of drug-dealing was also uncovered, while one image
depicted a prisoner in possession of a knife.

An ex-inmate told Channel 4 that prisons are riddled with drugs.
He added that prison officers and other staff members often
smuggle illicit contraband into British jails.

“Prisons are awash with drugs both legal (legal highs) and
illegal. The main way that they come into prisons is through
staff,” he said.

“The amount that prisoners or visitors can smuggle in is
minute compared to the amount that is available on the prison
wing.”

In an official statement, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said it
will never tolerate the use of illicit contraband and substance
in UK jails.

The MoJ stressed prisons deploy a selection of robust security
policies to detect contraband, including body searches, metal
detectors, x-ray machines, surveillance cameras, and body orifice
scanners. It argued these measures also help to clamp down on
mobile phone usage.

But Peter McFarlin, chairman of the prison officers association
(POA), said prison staffers simply don’t have the resources to
carry out stringent security operations.

“Since 2010, 7,500 frontline operational prison staff have
left the service, 3,500 in one calendar year to 2014,”
McFarlin said.

“That means that targeted searching is not taking place,
basic searching is not taking place, [and] intelligence-led
operations are going to be impossible to perform within the
prison as they were in the past,” he warned.

Prisoners found to be carrying smart phones could see up to 24
months added to their sentence. Nevertheless, mobile phone usage
is rife in UK jails.

In 2013, 7,451 mobile phones were seized by prison staff.

MoJ statistics also reveal drug use in prisons is common place.
The latest figures indicate there were 4,500 drug seizures in
2013-14.

The MoJ said prisoners suspected of or caught smuggling illegal
items into UK jails will face serious repercussions. It warned
potential consequences may include “prosecution and a further
sentence, closed visits, up to 42 days added to their time in
prison or confinement to their cell for up to 21 days with no
association time.”